20 Foods You Secretly Can't Explain

At one time or another, everyone has had the experience of looking over a menu and sort of knowing what an ingredient is, but secretly hoping no one will quiz you on it. Usually, this anxiety is followed by your mother asking you what a sunchoke is, and you making up some first-class nonsense about it being the root of a sunflower plant and tasting sort of like potatoes.

While some of that half-remembered spiel is partially right, it is also completely wrong at the same time (sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, have no relation to sunflowers and are actually tubers).

The point is, there are words that come up on menus pretty regularly that most people vaguely have a sense of, but can’t always remember the specifics of what they look like, where they’re from, or what they taste like. Maybe it’s an ingredient you are too proud to ask about (guilty) or a cooking technique like confit which you have heard a thousand times but still can’t explain in full (we might as well bookmark the Wikipedia entry at this point). Or maybe it’s as simple a thing as fior di latte, which you think might be a cheese, but damn, you can’t even really say why you think so.

Here are 20 words you think you know, but maybe you have no idea. In either event, refresh your memory so that next time your date asks you what sous vide means, or a pretentious foodie friend casually asks you about ‘nduja, you’ll be ready to drop knowledge.

Bottarga

What it is: The salted, pressed, and dried fish roe of tuna or gray mullet. After being hung to dry and age, the pressed eggs are covered in wax to stop any further drying out.
How it’s served: Shaved thinly or grated onto dishes, this salty ingredient can be used on top of pastas, to finish salads, or even served as an appetizer with crostini and citrus.

Mostarda

What it is: A jam-like condiment of candied fruit preserved in mustard (powdered, oil, or seeds) and syrup.
How it’s served: In Italy, mostarda was traditionally considered to be the perfect pairing with boiled meats. Today, the sweet, sinus-clearing fruit preserve is often served with robust meats and unctuous cheeses. You can even get the stuff smashed between buttery pieces of bread on a grilled cheese at spots like Earl’s Beer and Cheese in NYC.

Remoulade

What it is: This sauce—which has its roots in French cuisine—is also heavily used in Creole cooking. It can contain ingredients like horseradish, mustard, paprika, anchovies, capers, chopped pickles, and even sometimes curry in addition to its mayonnaise base. It is very similar to American tartar sauce.
How it’s served: Traditionally, the sauce accompanied meats, but in the U.S., it is more commonly seen alongside fried fish and crab cakes.

Sous Vide

What it is: A cooking process from the French meaning “under vacuum.” Food is vacuum-sealed in an airtight pouch and then cooked in a water bath at a controlled temperature. The technique is often used in very high-end kitchens; sous-vide machines are expensive, but they allow chefs to have a huge degree of control over meat, and avoid overcooking since proteins can rest once they reach the temperature of the water bath.
How it’s served: Used for cooking proteins from steak to chicken to fish, the process yields meat that has not gotten dried out during the cooking process. Anything can be sous-vide, and the technique is often used to create perfectly cooked eggs.

Rillette

What it is: Shredded meat (often pork or duck) or fish preserved in fat and served as a quasi-spread.
How it’s served: Usually served with toasted bread, mustard, and pickles, depending on what the protein is. Where there is charcuterie, there is rillete—this is a French classic.

Colatura

What it is: An anchovy fish sauce made by salting and pressing anchovies in wooden casks for at least five months. The oil is reddish-brown in color and heavy on the anchovy flavor.
How it’s served: Like other fish sauces, colatura can be used to add acidic punch to greens, dressings, and sauces. It's also commonly deployed in pasta, broths, and pizza.

'nduja

What it is: A spicy, spreadable salami originating in Calabria; it is made of pork and pork fat, as well as layers of red pepper for spicing.
How it’s served: The meaty spread can be used on pizzas, in stews, with shrimp or chicken, or on bread.

Puttanesca

What it is: Meaning “in the style of a prostitute,” the sauce is traditionally made with a tomato base, olives, garlic, capers, hot peppers, and anchovies. Fun etymology: The word derives from sauces that would cook at brothels and entice passersby with the scent.
How it’s served: Usually served over spaghetti everywhere from old-school red sauce joints to more upscale Italian kitchens.

Burrata

What it is: Meaning “buttered” in Italian, it is a cheese made from buffalo mozzarella and cream. Pulled mozzarella forms the outer shell, giving way to a pouch inside filled with cream and more cheese. It is wrapped and stored in water.
How it’s served: On its own; with bread and fruit; in salads; drizzled with honey for dessert.

Freekeh

What it is: An ancient grain made from young spelt, durum wheat, or barley that is roasted while green, essentially burning while still in its thrushes.
How it’s served: It is boiled and then served as a cold or warm salad with cheeses, vegetables, meat, or even topped with a fried egg, as well as sometimes being eaten like a cereal.

Galette

What it is: A free-form pie usually made from puff pastry or classic butter-heavy pie dough. It is generally presented as a flat round cake.
How it’s served: More often than not, galettes are filled with fruit and served like a tart. They can also be served with savory fillings of vegetables, cheeses, and meat.

Granita

What it is: An icy dessert from Italy that's sort of a more refined version of an American sno-cone. It lives in a world somewhere between Italian ices and sorbet, with texture ranging from smooth to coarse. The ice can appear chunky, chipped, or in shaved bits, or it can be thrown into a gelato machine for a silkier consistency.
How it’s served: Served usually for dessert, granita most commonly comes in fruit flavors—varieties range from watermelon to blood orange, but you'll also see richer flavors like chocolate and cinnamon. Chefs often get creative: Andrew Carmellini (Locanda Verde, The Dutch) has served a margarita-flavored granita, while Blanca in Bushwich serves a caviar-and-parsnip granita in a mother-of-pearl spoon.

Gremolata

What it is: An Italian condiment made of herbs, usually containing lemon zest, garlic, and parsley.
How it’s served: Traditionally gremolata was served with veal ossobuco (braised veal shank), but it is now widely used with seafoods and other meats as well. Tell your date about the evolution of gremolata usage next time your at an Italian restaurant—it's sure to be a hit.

Confit

What it is: A form of cooking meat (usually goose, duck, or pork) that involves preserving proteins in their own fat. Traditionally the method was used for storing food before the time of refrigerators, and these days, the term can even be applied to vegetables. A vegetable that has been confited is cooked until tender in seasoned liquid (usually olive oil), then stored and served in the same liquid.

How it’s served: The most recognizable, old guard confit is made with duck. Duck legs and thighs are submerged in their own rendered fat to cook, then stored in (you guessed it) more fat.

Escabeche

What it is: A traditional technique in Spanish cooking, the word itself really just means marinade. A sauce of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, bay leaf, and pepper (can also have other herbs, spices, and pimentón added) is used for frying or stewing fish, game, and poultry. Ingredients are left to sit in cooking liquid and can be eaten immediately or later, preserved in the liquid. Essentially the key is marinating after cooking.
How it’s served: Most commonly escabeche involves fish like fried sardines or white bait, or even mussels and tuna; however, its applications can be used widely on varied ingredients.

Agrodolce

What it is: Translating to “sour sweet,” it is an Italian sauce traditionally made with vinegar and sugar. The two elements are reduced down and often have wine, fruit, and butter added.
How it’s served: Vegetables from pumpkins to cauliflower can be prepared in this style, as well as meats, and even pasta. The preparation is simple and the flavor is robust.

Brandade/Mantecato

What it is: Traditionally made with salt cod (baccala), this fish spread is pureed with olive oil and milk (or cream). Often lemon, parsley, and garlic are also added. Baccala mantecato is the Venetian version of the dish, which adds whipped potatoes along with cream and olive oil.
How it’s served: Usually brandades and mantecato are served warm as a spread with toast points or crostini. Depending on the consistency of the cod, the mixture can also be served as the filling for sandwiches or atop a bed of greens. Think fatty, hot, salty fish spread.

Bonito

What it is: A type of fish that is a smaller relative to the tuna with dark stripes. It is often used in Japanese cooking in a dried form, and can also be called katsuobushi. The fish are boiled whole and split in half to remove bones and skin. They are then smoked and dried repeatedly (traditionally in the sun), until forming solid blocks that can be shaved or flaked.
How it’s served: Commonly referred to as bonito flakes, the dried fish pellets or flakes can be added to stocks and rice wine, as well as dusted over dishes like sushi.

Haggis

What it is: Aside from being the butt of jokes about Scottish cuisine, it is a pudding made from sheep’s hearts, liver, and lungs mixed with onion, oatmeal, and spices. It is then stuffed into the animals stomach lining or a sausage casing, and simmered in stock to cook.
How it’s served: The meat pudding is traditionally served with neeps and tatties (i.e., turnips and potatoes) which are boiled and mashed. With Burns night around the corner, it’s helpful to be aware. Haggis can also be delicious, so don't be scurred.

Fior di latte

What it is: Literally translating to “flower of milk,” fior di latte is a cow’s-milk mozzarella (as opposed to one made from buffalo milk).
How it’s served: Just like buffalo mozzarella, the cheese can be used in caprese salads, on pizza, in pasta, or eaten alone with olive oil. Fior di latte gelato is also a popular flavor—the dessert showcases the purest, grassiest flavor of the milk.

At one time or another, everyone has had the experience of looking over a menu and sort of knowing what an ingredient is, but secretly hoping no one will quiz you on it. Usually, this anxiety is followed by your mother asking you what a sunchoke is, and you making up some first-class nonsense about it being the root of a sunflower plant and tasting sort of like potatoes.
While some of that half-remembered spiel is partially right, it is also completely wrong at the same time (sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, have no relation to sunflowers and are actually tubers).
The point is, there are words that come up on menus pretty regularly that most people vaguely have a sense of, but can't always remember the specifics of what they look like, where they're from, or what they taste like. Maybe it's an ingredient you are too proud to ask about (guilty) or a cooking technique like confit which you have heard a thousand times but still can't explain in full (we might as well bookmark the Wikipedia entry at this point). Or maybe it's as simple a thing as fior di latte, which you think might be a cheese, but damn, you can't even really say why you think so.
Here are 20 words you think you know, but maybe you have no idea. In either event, refresh your memory so that next time your date asks you what sous vide means, or a pretentious foodie friend casually asks you about 'nduja, you'll be ready to drop knowledge.

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